NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Atiu Swiftlet
Aerodramus sawtelli (Holyoak, 1974)
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Kopeka bird on Atiu island
Biberl · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Image sourceProvider-generated thumbnail requested at 800 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.
Open encyclopedia reference
The Atiu swiftlet or Sawtell's Swiftlet (Aerodramus sawtelli) is a species of bird in the swift family, endemic to Atiu in the Cook Islands.
This small, dark swift measures 10 cm (3.9 in) long. It is sooty-brown above, slightly lighter below.
Its natural habitats are the island's fernlands and mixed horticultural areas over which it feeds, and in makatea limestone caves within which it nests. The species is known on Atiu as kopeka.
Unlike all other swiftlets, it echolocates only through single clicks, rather than a mix of single- and double clicks.
Wikipedia contributors, Atiu swiftlet; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T03:11:51.449609+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Aerodramus sawtelli (Holyoak, 1974)
- Name authority
- (Holyoak, 1974)
- Common name
- Atiu Swiftlet
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Apodiformes
- Family
- Apodidae
- Genus
- Aerodramus
- Extinction status
- Recorded extant
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classAves
- orderApodiformes
- familyApodidae
- subfamilyApodinae
- genusAerodramus Oberholser, 1906
- speciesAerodramus sawtelli (Holyoak, 1974)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Aerodramus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Himalayan SwiftletAerodramus brevirostris (Horsfield, 1840) | ApodidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Halmahera SwiftletAerodramus infuscatus (Salvadori, 1880) | ApodidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Palau SwiftletAerodramus pelewensis (Mayr, 1935) | ApodidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Seychelles SwiftletAerodramus elaphrus (Oberholser, 1906) | ApodidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Bare-legged SwiftletAerodramus nuditarsus (Salomonsen, 1962) | ApodidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Mascarene SwiftletAerodramus francicus (J. F. Gmelin, 1789) | ApodidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Marquesan SwiftletAerodramus ocistus (Oberholser, 1906) | ApodidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Tahiti SwiftletAerodramus leucophaeus (Peale, 1849) | ApodidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Mossy-nest SwiftletAerodramus salangana (Streubel, 1848) | ApodidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Australian SwiftletAerodramus terraereginae (E. P. Ramsay, 1875) | ApodidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Mayr's SwiftletAerodramus orientalis (Mayr, 1935) | ApodidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Ameline SwiftletAerodramus amelis (Oberholser, 1906) | ApodidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Collocalia sawtelli Holyoak, 1974 Holyoak, 1974 | synonym |
| Aerodramus leucophaeus sawtelli (Holyoak, 1974) (Holyoak, 1974) | synonym |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=554966 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:8HTGC. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.